HighTech: Apple, Google block messaging app Parler from their stores

 Apple, Google block messaging app Parler from their stores Apple and Google have blocked the messaging and social network app Parler from t...

 Apple, Google block messaging app Parler from their stores

Apple and Google have blocked the messaging and social network app Parler from their stores. And Amazon said it would shut off all the app's servers, Parler CEO John Matze said Saturday.

Matze said the app will rebuild from scratch and will be unavailable on the internet for up to a week, CNN reported. Matze said it was a coordinated effort by tech giants to kill competition.

Google cited the "urgent public safety threat" in restricting Parler, a 2-year-old, more freewheeling alternative to Twitter, that has become increasingly popular among the president’s most ardent supporters. Many have used the forum to spread falsehoods and hateful comments.

Google said in a statement that it reminded Parler in recent months of its policies requiring apps with user-generated content to remove "egregious content like posts that incite violence."

A Google spokesperson told reports in a statement that the app is being suspended until it addresses issues.

Many users of the app also reported issues trying to access it.

On Saturday, Apple removed Parler from its app store. "[T]here is no place on our platform for threats of violence and illegal activity," the iPhone maker said.

Apple notified Parler of its decision in a message that said it had violated the company's app store terms.

"The processes Parler has put in place to moderate or prevent the spread of dangerous and illegal content have proved insufficient," Apple told Parler. "Specifically, we have continued to find direct threats of violence and calls to incite lawless action in violation of Guideline 1.1 - Safety - Objectionable Content."

Apple's notice said Parler's responses to an earlier warning were inadequate, including Parler's defense that it had been taking violent rhetoric on its platform "very seriously for weeks" and that it had a moderation plan "for the time being," according to Apple.

"Parler has not taken adequate measures to address the proliferation of these threats to people's safety," Apple said in a statement to CNN Business. "We have suspended Parler from the App Store until they resolve these issues."

CNN and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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